Fightstar
Grand Unification

THE REVIEW

Today we review "Grand Unification," debut album by Fightstar released in 2006.

But who are Fightstar? Perhaps some of you remember Busted, a very mediocre teen pop-punk band, who made the usual cheap tunes for teenage girls, selling millions of copies at the beginning of the millennium. The youngest and most talented member was Charlie Simpson, who had much greater musical ambitions. Around 2004, he unexpectedly decided to leave Busted, giving up on easy success and money, to form a band with which to make the music he truly deemed fitting for him, that is, heavy metal. Already this would be enough to make the guy my personal hero and to blindly sign a hypothetical petition to erect a monument for him.

Fightstar was formed in 2004 with Charlie Simpson on vocals, guitar, and piano; Alex Westaway on guitar and backing vocals; Omar Abidi on drums (both met by Simpson at a party) and Dan Haigh on bass. They debuted in 2005 with the EP "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead," which was released mainly, as the title suggests, to counter the wall of skepticism that had formed around the project, due to Simpson's musical past. The EP was a critical and public success.

In 2006, their debut was released. Defining the genre is difficult. Fightstar is usually grouped with that wave of post-hardcore/emo bands that has arisen in recent years, but this is extremely reductive. Their music incorporates orchestral elements (almost always a string section), a piano, acoustic parts, thrash riffs, falsetto vocals alternated with screamings and, more rarely, spoken word narrations. It would be more accurate to define them as an alternative metal band with strong hardcore influences and, especially in terms of atmospheres and pathos, progressive and post-rock. It's no coincidence that the group cites among its influences Deftones, Radiohead, Mono, and Explosions In The Sky (!).

The first thing you notice about the CD is the beautiful cover, which introduces us to the concept, namely the last day of life of two people aware that the world is about to end. The album opens with "To Sleep," an introduction just over a minute long that, between ethereal and subdued voices, perfectly welcomes us to what the listening will be.

The first real song is "Grand Unification pt.1," one of the singles, which already presents all the typical elements of Fightstar's sound. The song opens with a massive riff and then flows into a lighter part, where the pathos increases progressively until the final point where Simpson is accompanied by Westaway's second voice in screaming, which, I swear, gives me goosebumps. The part of the text reads:

If I wake up

On my own

If something happens

Please come home

And, as banal as it might be, it manages to be very moving. It continues with "Waste a Moment," a quieter song with fantastic choruses and a refrain that sticks in your head (I'm not asking for much, I'm not asking for anything...), it’s also the first where Simpson uses screaming. "Sleep Well Tonight" is one of the best songs on the record and one of the few that impress on the first listen, thanks to the intelligence with which the band alternates heavy parts with melodic arpeggios. "Paint Your Target" is the first single but also the song I like least, not because it’s bad, but simply because it’s less good than all the others. "Build An Army" starts with an arpeggio and then becomes appropriately intense to be considered the most metal track of the album, with a fierce Simpson showcasing a convincing scream; yet, despite this, it is not one of the best. The band bounces back greatly with the stunning "Here Again (Last Conversation)" which starts with a simple guitar, followed by the bass and drums before flowing into metal distortions and a wonderful chorus that Simpson sings with true belief:

It hasn't been perfect

For a long time

And now we're here again

In short, we’ll find ourselves singing along with him. For "Lost Like Tears In Rain," the same discourse made for "Sleep Well" and "Here Again" applies, a fantastic song, magnificently interpreted, vying for the best spot on the album. "Open Your Eyes" is beautiful but in my opinion too "standard" for a band like Fightstar. And now we arrive at what could objectively be the high point of the album, "Mono" (the name is a tribute to the Japanese band) is a song over six minutes long, containing an epic crescendo of emotions and pathos, and is undoubtedly the one most tied to prog and post-rock. A must-listen at least once in a lifetime. "Hazy Eyes" is pretty and catchy, but unfortunately, coming after "Mono," it pales in comparison. "Grand Unification pt.2" is perhaps the most challenging on the album, with narrated parts both at the beginning and the end (the voice is of a famous English physicist) and Simpson sweetly singing in falsetto accompanied only by the piano, before reaching the chorus (Hold my hand until the waves come, the waves come...).

"Wake Up" is the last song (note that the album opens with "To Sleep") and is partly sung by Westaway. The protagonist wakes up and, aware that the end is coming, gently shakes his partner (Simpson's pleasantly hypnotic voice whispering "wake up, wake up..."). There isn't much more to say, we remain on very high levels, as with everything we have listened to so far.

So, is "Grand Unification" a masterpiece? Personally, absolutely yes. Especially given the state of modern music, such an original band can only be beneficial. But then why hasn't it been heard of in Italy? The only review found (of the second album, "One Day Son, This Will Be All Yours," also amazing) is here on DeBaser, but on other sites, a cosmic void.

Perhaps we "alternative"/"expert musicians of nothing" should indulge less in fantasies about Gentle Giant or Van Der Graaf Generator albums and help new realities grow. Far be it from me to insult great bands that I adore and that have made history, but that belong to a past that will never return, unless we do something.

On October 16 of this year, the fourth by Fightstar, "Behind The Devil's Back," will be released after a long break due to Simpson's solo career.

I'm getting it, and you?